


Mirror Image

by Glass_Oceans



Series: The Ficlet Collection [80]
Category: Dredd (2012), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 16:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14898044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glass_Oceans/pseuds/Glass_Oceans
Summary: AU prompts – 40 & Matt/William please? (exes meeting again after not speaking for years au)





	Mirror Image

**Author's Note:**

> Content notes: Modern AU

Matt stopped, his heart hammering in his chest. He licked dry lips and took great heaving breaths to try and quell the uprising in his stomach. He put his drink down on the edge of the table next to him, took off his glasses and cleaned them with the well-worn scrap of cloth from his pocket. Anything to give him a couple more moments before he had to look across the room again. Taking another deep breath, clenching his hands at his sides against and against, he summoned his courage and looked towards the doorway. For a moment he thought he’d escaped, but he looked again and there he was, standing just to the side and accepting a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

The resemblance was uncanny. The same long limbs that always seemed willowy and graceful next to Matt’s own. The same bright red hair on his head, only now it was cut short in a style that didn’t even brush the top of his collar. That was the strangest difference, to think of him without the long hair that used to hang over his eyes, hiding his shy smile from Matt. Still though, it was him, Matt was sure of it. Sure enough to cross the room to say hello. Sure enough to want to look into those blue eyes again and see if there was anything in them that still remembered him too. Sure enough that Matt found himself halfway across the room, drink forgotten, as his brain finally caught up with his actions.

Matt came to a stop behind him, staring at the perfectly cut shoulders of his suit as he spoke with a couple of other guests. One of them looked over the redheads shoulder, meeting Matt’s eyes before he nodded, indicating Matt’s presence. And then he was turning, ice blue eyes looking Matt briefly up and down.

“Can I help you?” he asked, tone cold. His eyes were bored, disinterested. Cold.

Matt’s mouth opened but no words came out. He shouldn’t be cold. Sure, it was a long time ago, but they’d parted on good terms. Well, mostly good terms. Matt had stood on the sideway until his car had disappeared around the corner, and then gone to his room to cry for two solid days. The man in front of him showed no signs of being the same person who had started crying before they’d even said their goodbyes.

“Do you need something?” the man asked, the faintest hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

Matt closed his mouth with a snap, staring at the floor as he breathed through his nose. He felt like his heart was breaking all over again. And as well as that, he could feel tendrils of anger beginning to crawl through his stomach. This was a mistake. He’d never, never, gotten angry at him, not once, and-

“Mattie?”

Matt’s head whipped around. There he was, standing in front of him, hair still long, eyes blue and _warm_.

“I-“

“Do you know this man?”

William stepped forward and wrapped his hands around the other man’s forearm. Matt watched him move, blinking rapidly as they stood together. Twins. They could have been identical if they had a mind to style themselves the same.

“Armitage, this is Matt,” William said, squeezing Armitage’s arm as he spoke. “And Matt, this is my brother Armitage.”

“How do you do,” Armitage said, extending the arm William was trying to trap to grasp Matt’s hand in a firm, but cool grip.

William beamed at the introduction, squeezing his brother again.

“I’m going to go talk to Mattie for a while,” he said.

“Make sure you’re back in time for the presentation, William,” his brother said, already disentangling himself to turn back to his colleagues. “And be safe.”

As Armitage said this last, his eyes flicked towards Matt, and Matt swallowed. This was not a man he wanted to cross. Before he could respond, William had taken hold of Matt’s arm and was gently but firmly steering him through the crowd and towards the terrace doors. 

The evening was just beginning to cool, making the terrace a welcome break from the formality inside the conference hall. William steered them with familiarity towards a bench just far enough away from the doors to afford them some privacy. He sat, not releasing his hold on Matt for one moment, so Matt was pulled down to sit beside him, leg pressed to leg on the cool stone. They sat in silence, William’s head moving slightly as he traced the paths of birds over the treeline, and Matt trying to sneak glances of him whenever he thought he wasn’t looking.

“I never stopped thinking about you, you know.”

Matt jumped, and turned to see William watching him unabashedly.

“I thought I’d be able to send you a letter, but…”

“We moved,” Matt finished for him. “Six weeks after you left.”

William’s smile turned sad than, and he looked away, back towards the garden.

“I used to wonder,” William continued, “what might have happened if I hadn’t left.”

In the confines of William’s grip, Matt began to pick at his nails. William felt the movements and smiled as he looked at Matt’s hands.

“You still do that, huh?”

Matt looked down at his hands, and forced himself to stop, rubbing his palms on his knees.

“Did you-“

“I couldn’t,” Matt blurted. “I just… I missed you too much. I couldn’t think about it.”

“Oh.”

William seemed even smaller somehow, curled in on himself even though he hadn’t moved. The sun had moved behind the trees now, and Matt could feel the cool evening breeze picking up. Matt wanted to remove his jacket, offer it to William. He’d always felt the cold, and he doubted that had changed. He would have offered, but that would have meant asking William to let go of him…

He got no further with his train of thought when Armitage emerged on the terrace doors, hovering briefly before stepping smartly over to them.

“So sorry to disturb you,” he said, not sounding regretful in the least. “William, we need to set up now.”

“Yes, of course,” William replied, hands still tight around Matt’s arm. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

Armitage’s lips pursed, but he accepted the comment and turned on his heel. Still, William sat still, staring out at the treeline. Matt wished he knew what to say, something that would turn the moment magical, and have William throwing his arms around him. Instead, the moment passed, and William finally released his arm as he stood up.

“I’m here tonight,” Matt blurted, not knowing what he was saying as the words tumbled from his mouth. “At the conference, I mean. I’ll be here tonight. If you are. If you want to, you know, get a drink or something? If you’re free.”

William looked down at him, eyes still warm as a smile slowly spread across his face.

“I’d like that.”


End file.
